This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 11:09 pm and is filed under About, Adventure Cruises, Information, Sites, Snorkeling, Snuba. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Photo Courtesy Katie Velasquez
A large congregation of sharks is called a ’shiver’. The above picture shows a very pregnant grey reef shark, or mano, as they are called in Hawaiian. The Hawaiians have a very deep respect and connection with the sharks. For many they still consider the shark to be a family ‘aumakua, or family guardian.
The grey reef is truly an amazing animal. It’s ear is constructed very similar to a human ear, giving them a definite advantage of superior listening capability, along with their other 5 senses. Their eyes are grey. Easy to identify, the dorsal is short, triangular, and the second dorsal, tail, and pectoral fins are tipped with black. They grow to just over 5 feet and are considered to be a fairly small shark. They seem to prefer warmer waters on our planet. The grey reef can do something, which makes them beyond amazing. They can change the color of their skin! WOW! The first time this author saw this on a research video, I was floored. I had a hard time believing my eyes and played the video again and again until it soaked in. The female grey reef was feeding off a dead marine mammal and she was not alone. There were many other grey reefs, along with a couple of blacktip reef sharks as well. Suddenly this one turned and headed in a different direction. The researcher filming decided this was too bizarre of behavior to not follow. She slightly arched her back and lowered her pectoral fins while heading to an area ahead where the water was very murky from a river running into the ocean. The researcher gasped loudly in the video as he watched the shark enter the murky water slowly, turning white from the tip of her snout to the end of her tail and disappeared in front of the camera. All we saw was a glimpse of her tail. The distance was not far and the researcher knew she was right there, evidently following the scent of something yummy, but he dared not follow. How amazing is that?
Snorkeling, or enjoying SNUBA while in Hawaii would be even more amazing if you were lucky enough to get a glimpse of these apex predators hunting for the foods they love, i.e. octopus, reef fish, crabs and lobster. What a photographic moment that would be! But the truth is, not many people snorkeling or diving ever see a shark. Not if the shark sees them first.
It is very sad to note that over 100 MILLION sharks are being killed each year by the finning industry. We need to all fight together on this one. Sharks are a keystone animal in our oceans. If we lose these incredible animals the eventual down-slide, according to researchers, could be as fast as 50 years. Our oceans would die off and without our blue backyard, humans would be next. We could become extinct! Read more about it through NatGeo, or other websites you trust, and don’t just sit there!! Help them, they need you!
If you are planning a trip to the islands, bring a camera and come out on the water. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you never know what you may be lucky enough to see!
